


Goodbye, Doctor Shaw

by UNITdaemon



Category: Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: F/M, UNIT dating controversy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 06:39:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13358646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UNITdaemon/pseuds/UNITdaemon
Summary: "As people began to flood out of the train cars, the couple found themselves surrounded. Yet despite the calamity, the Brigadier still felt as though it were just he and Liz on that platform."The Brigadier has one last heart to heart with Liz before she slips from his grasp. Written for Ruby_Rubisco who requested a Liz/Brig fic.





	Goodbye, Doctor Shaw

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ruby_Rubisco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruby_Rubisco/gifts).



> Doctor Who and it's characters belong to the BBC - I'm just here to write fic about it.

“Miss? You’ve really got to get going.”

Liz sat in the back of the cab, so caught up in doubts over what she was doing that she didn’t even register the taxi driver asking her to hurry up. Biting her lip, she wondered about throwing it all in and going back. It’s not like they wouldn’t be happy to see her.

No. She’d made her decision. UNIT wasn’t the place for her anymore, and it was time to move on.

The driver started to get impatient. “Come on, I haven’t got all day.”

Liz blinked, finally realising that she was holding the cabbie up. Muttering a quick thank you, she handed him a wad of notes and hopped out of the car. She was lucky he didn’t drive off with her luggage still in the trunk - he honked the horn when she was still in the getting it out. Her day had been draining enough, did she really need this as well? Resisting the urge to yell at the middle-aged driver, she slammed the trunk shut and started towards the train station.

After leaving her suitcase with the conductor, she settled herself on one of the wooden benches that lined the near-deserted platform. Liz pulled the train ticket out of her pocket to be sure she had the right time, and her heart sank when she saw the ticket read 6.30 instead of 6 - she was half an hour early.

Sighing, she wiped a hand over her face. Today really wasn’t her day… She supposed it could’ve been worse. She could’ve been half an hour late. Besides, she’d done far more difficult and unpleasant things than wait for a train for half an hour. 

Compared to her old job, this would be a walk in the park.

 

When the Brigadier first learnt that Liz was leaving, he was less than pleased. Hell, he was angry. Not at her, but himself. She was leaving because she felt wasted at UNIT, like they didn’t need her anymore because they had the Doctor instead. He wished he’d made her feel more wanted.

He needed to make it up to her. The Brigadier felt responsible for all this, as he’d been the one to give the Doctor the job as scientific adviser on the very day she came to claim it. He never should’ve done it, and now she was leaving because of the ramifications of his actions. Deep down he knew that following her to the station was a silly idea - she was probably gone by now. But he had to try.

Ascending the steps to the station platform, his heart skipped a beat when he saw her on one of the benches, nose buried in a book, still waiting for the train. They were completely alone, save for various staff strutting around the place. Even the tracks were empty, and the sound of silence hung heavy in the air.

He cleared his throat, and Liz immediately turned her head to him. Her gaze lingered on him, her eyes widening and lips parting. She swallowed and spoke. “What are you doing here?”

It was at that moment Lethbridge-Stewart realised that he had no idea what he was going to say to her. 

“I…” he trailed off, wracking his brain for the right words. “I came to say goodbye.”

Liz chuckled softly, sliding a marker into her book. “Didn’t you say that earlier?”

“Not properly,” he responded, making his way to sit beside her.

Instead, Liz rose to meet him. She took a few steps towards him, heels clicking on the stones that lined the platform. Her red hair glowed in the evening sun, the low light of dusk illuminating her. Her face was soft, but she seemed somewhat tense. 

“You can’t make me come back, you know,” she stated, her tone more regretful than confident.

The Brigadier gave a slight shake of his head. “That’s not what I came here to do. I want to apologise.”

A smile played at her lips. “What for? You’ve got nothing to do with it.”

“But I do.” He stepped forward, closing the gap between them. Liz looked up at him, confusion clouding her face. “If it weren’t for me, the Doctor wouldn’t have-”

Before he could finish, a train’s horn sounded in the distance. The Brigadier glanced behind him to see the train chugging towards them, but Liz placed her hand on his cheek and pulled his gaze back to her. She looked at him with earnesty in her eyes, the setting sun reflecting in her iris.

“You had no control over how the Doctor treated me,” she reassured him. “You’ve been nothing but good to me, Alistair. I would’ve left much sooner if it weren’t for you.” 

She’d never called him Alistair before. 

The train pulled up beside them, honking once more. As people began to flood out of the train cars, the couple found themselves surrounded. Yet despite the calamity, the Brigadier still felt as though it were just he and Liz on that platform. 

Liz looked to the train, then back to the Brigadier. “That’s me, I’m afraid.”

“I will miss you, Doctor Shaw.”

Liz pursed her lips, and the Brigadier recognised the expression. It meant she was thinking hard about something - he’d seen it plenty of times before when she was working with the Doctor. But before he could think any more of it, Liz had leant up and kissed him.

It was no more than a fleeting peck on the lips, yet it was the most marvellous thing the Brigadier had ever experienced. But it was over as soon as it began, and Liz was already taking steps towards her train car.

“Liz!” The Brigadier called out. There was so much more he needed to say.

“Goodbye, Brigadier!” She called back, waving. “I’ll never forget you!”

The Brigadier was left behind, and he could only watch as Liz vanished onto the train car. He knew he’d see her again some time. No doubt they’d bump into each other on the street some twenty years later, both much older and much much wiser. They’d reminisce about the days they spent defending the Earth together, and tell each other all about the lives they’d lived in the meantime. That much was inevitable.

But in that moment, as she slipped from his grasp, it all felt so final. Liz was gone, and she’d stay that way. There was nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t make her come back, and she wouldn’t leap off the train and run to him after deciding she’d made a mistake.

So as the train slowly chugged into life, the Brigadier watched as the woman he cared for so deeply went away forever. He breathed deeply, eyes still glued to the train car she occupied.

“Goodbye, Doctor Shaw. I don’t think I shall forget you either”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! What did you think? Let me know in a comment :)


End file.
